Image output method and device, and image display

ABSTRACT

First and second division patterns are defined so that main areas A and A′ are similar to each other in shape, having the same horizontal-to-vertical ratio. Even if an image output apparatus is connected to a display unit having both first and second display screens, the image output apparatus generates an identical image for the main area A or A′ regardless of the aspect ratio of the display screen. The main areas A and A′ display important information and the like. Sub areas B and B′ display auxiliary information. The first and second division patterns may be determined so that the sub areas B and B′ are similar to each other in shape like the main areas.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image output method.

BACKGROUND ART

Image output apparatuses which generate and output video pictures andimages, including game consoles and digital versatile disc players (DVDplayers), are used as they are with various types of display units suchas plasma display televisions, liquid crystal display televisions, CRTtelevisions, or liquid crystal display monitors.

These display units do not necessarily have display screens with astandardized aspect ratio. Display screens with aspect ratios of 4:3 and16:9 are commonly in use at present.

When displaying video contents such as a movie or a game on thesedisplay screens with different aspect ratios, DVD players and gameconsoles display images corresponding to the aspect ratios of therespective display units by using a letterbox method, a pan-and-scanmethod, or a squeeze method. These methods have sometimes causedproblems as display screens being only partly used, images that aresupposed to be displayed being in part not displayed, or images beingdistorted.

To solve these problems, it might be possible to generate and outputdifferent pictures or images depending on the aspect ratios of therespective display screens. For example, when a game console outputsthree-dimensional graphic images, the three-dimensional models may becreated in a world coordinate system that is provided for a volumegreater than possible view volumes, so that images and video pictures tobe displayed are generated by modifying a clipping area according to theaspect ratio of the display screen.

In this case, it is possible to output distortion-free images on theentire display screen simply by modifying the view clip and withoutchanging the three-dimensional modeling processing. Nevertheless, in thecase of a car racing game, for example, there may arise the problem thatadjacent cars appear on a display screen with one aspect ratio whilethey disappear from a display screen with a different aspect ratio.Moreover, in games where players can change character positions andviews freely, objects that must not be displayed on display screens orthat should be hidden from the game players may inadvertently appear insome cases.

Unlike movies and other such contents, games have the property thatscenes to be displayed on display screens vary minute by minute withplayer instructions. When programming games, it is thereforeunrealistic, in view of the necessary effort to predict every playerinstruction and perform tests and debugs with display screens withdifferent aspect ratios.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The present invention has been achieved in view of the foregoingproblems, and a general purpose thereof is to provide a method foroutputting images or video pictures to display screens with differentaspect ratios efficiently and without causing the contents to fail.

Means to Solve the Problems

An image output method according to one embodiment of the presentinvention includes: defining division patterns in advance for dividing adisplay screen into a plurality of areas in association with an aspectratio of the display screen; and dividing a target display screen into aplurality of areas in accordance with the division pattern correspondingto the aspect ratio thereof. It also includes generating images for eachof the plurality of areas divided, and outputting the images to theplurality of areas, respectively.

Advantages of the Invention

The image output method according to the present invention makes itpossible to output images or video pictures to display screens withdifferent aspect ratios efficiently and without causing the contents tofail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image outputapparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing examples of division patterns thatare defined in association with the aspect ratios of a first displayscreen and a second display screen, respectively;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of images to be displayedin sub areas;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing examples of images to be displayedin the sub areas;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing examples of images to be displayedin the sub areas;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing division patterns with which thesub areas of FIG. 2 are further divided into three small areas; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image outputapparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   10 graphics processor, 12 graphics memory, 14 arithmetic unit,        16 control unit, 20 memory, 30 main processor, 40 display        controller, 50 aspect ratio identification unit, 100 image        output apparatus, 200 display unit, 500 image display apparatus,        510 input unit, 520 arithmetic processing unit, 530 video        memory, 540 display screen, 550 antenna

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Before describing embodiments in detail, an overview thereof will begiven.

One embodiment relates to an image output method. In this image outputmethod, division patterns are defined in advance for dividing a displayscreen into a plurality of areas in association with an aspect ratio ofthe display screen, and a target display screen is divided into aplurality of areas in accordance with the division pattern correspondingto the aspect ratio thereof. Images are generated for each of theplurality of areas divided, and the generated images are output to theplurality of areas, respectively.

Since the division pattern of the display screen is previouslydetermined in association with the aspect ratio of the display screen,it is possible to use the entire display screen efficiently. It shouldbe noted that, as employed herein, video pictures and images to bedisplayed on display screens will be referred to simply as “images”irrespective of whether they are moving images or still images, andregardless of the contents thereof.

An image output method according to one embodiment includes: dividing adisplay screen so that a main area out of a plurality of areas obtainedby dividing the display screen has a predeterminedhorizontal-to-vertical ratio irrespective of the aspect ratio of thedisplay screen. An image having the predetermined horizontal-to-verticalratio is generated and output to the main area irrespective of theaspect ratio of the display screen.

The term “main area” refers to an area that lies at the center, an areathat is the largest, an area that is more noticeable than the others, orthe like. Otherwise, it refers to an area where information is displayedwhich is more important, or which users should pay more attention to,than that in the other areas.

In particular, we will assume two display screens having differentaspect ratios as shown in FIG. 2 to be discussed in more detail later.When outputting to a first display screen, the first display screen isdivided into a main area and a sub area based on a first divisionpattern, and images for each of the areas are generated and output tothe first display screen. Moreover, when outputting to a second displayscreen, the second display screen is divided into a main area and a subarea based on a second division pattern, and images for each of theareas are generated and output to the second display screen. The firstand second division patterns may be defined so that the main areaobtained by dividing the first display screen and the main area obtainedby dividing the second display screen are similar to each other inshape.

If the main areas obtained by dividing display screens with differentaspect ratios are similar in shape and identical images are displayed inthe respective main areas, it is possible to create images to bedisplayed in the main areas regardless of the aspect ratios of thedisplay screens, and display them in the main areas without distortionor accidental clipping. The term “identical images” refers to imagesthat are considered to be visually equivalent, including images that arescaled up/down, images that are different in resolution alone, andimages that are in different color scales.

The first and second division patterns may also be defined so that thesub area obtained by dividing the first display screen and the sub areaobtained by dividing the second display screen are analogous to eachother in shape. In this case, information having low directionality,such as figures that are comprehensible even when rotated by 90°, can bedisplayed in the sub areas as identical images.

The main areas and the sub areas may be updated at differentfrequencies. When the main areas and the sub areas display differentinformation, updating the pieces of information at respectivelyappropriate frequencies can reduce the amount of arithmetic processingor the like required for image generation.

When the first display screen and the second display screen have aspectratios of 16:9 and 16:12, respectively, the first division pattern maybe defined so as to divide the first display screen in approximately1.26:14.74 horizontally while the second division pattern is defined soas to divide the second display screen in approximately 9.77:2.23vertically. These division patterns can make the main areas and the subareas similar to each other between a widescreen television and astandard television.

Images rotated by 90° may be output to the sub areas obtained bydividing the first and second display screens, respectively, inaccordance with their respective horizontal-to-vertical ratios.

Images having the same meaning may be output to the sub area obtained bydividing the first display screen and the sub area obtained by dividingthe second display screen, respectively.

The term “having the same meaning” refers to pieces of information whichare not considered to be identical in terms of images but whichcorrespond to each other in meaning, such as when an identical sentenceis written in Japanese vertical writing and horizontal writing, and whenindicators for displaying identical information are arranged indifferent orientations, i.e., vertically and horizontally. For example,indicators for indicating a time concept may be displayed in the subareas in modes of expression appropriate to the shapes of the respectiveareas, such that a graphic representation like FIG. 3A to be discussedin more detail later is displayed in a horizontally long area whilehourglass graphics are displayed in a vertically long area.

Image information may be output to the main area obtained by dividingthe first or second display area while text information is output to thesub area obtained by dividing the first or second display screen.

The sub area obtained by dividing the first display screen and the subarea obtained by dividing the second display screen may be furtherdivided into the same numbers of small areas, respectively. Moreover,the respective small areas of the first and second display screens maybe associated with each other, and images having the same meaning may beoutput to the associated small areas of the first and second displayscreens.

At least one pair of associated small areas of the first and seconddisplay screens may be similar to each other in shape, having the samehorizontal-to-vertical ratio. In this case, identical images may beoutput to the respective small areas.

Yet another embodiment is an image output apparatus. This apparatusincludes: an aspect ratio identification unit which identifies theaspect ratio of a display screen of a display unit for an image to beoutput to; an image generating unit which generates an image to beoutput to the display screen; and an output unit which outputs the imagegenerated by the image generating unit to the display screen. The imagegenerating unit may generate images to be output to respective areasobtained by dividing the display screen based on a division patterndefined in association with the aspect ratio identified by the aspectratio identification unit.

Yet another embodiment is an image display apparatus. This apparatusincludes: an input unit for image data to be input to on theprecondition that a display screen is divided into a plurality of areasand images are to be displayed in the respective areas, the image datacorresponding to each of the areas; a memory which stores images to beoutput to the display screen; and an arithmetic processing unit whichdivides the memory into a plurality of areas according to a divisionpattern of the display screen, and arranges the image data input fromthe input unit in the respective areas.

The image display apparatus accepts the data relating to each area froma game console, a DVD player, or the like. The image display apparatuscan arrange the data in a memory such as a frame buffer, therebydividing the image to be output to the display screen appropriately.

It should be appreciated that any combinations of the foregoingcomponents, and the components and expressions mutually substitutedbetween methods, apparatuses, systems, and the like are also intended toconstitute applicable embodiments

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described in detail inconjunction with first and second embodiments.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention will deal with an imageoutput method, taking a game console as an example of the image outputapparatus. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of animage output apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The imageoutput apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment divides thedisplay screen of a display unit connected thereto in accordance withthe aspect ratio of the display screen, and displays images inrespective corresponding areas.

The image output apparatus 100 is connected with display units 200 and300 that have display screens with different aspect ratios. The switchSW shown in FIG. 1 does not represent mechanical or electric switchingbetween the display units 200 and 300, but implies that display unitshaving display screens of different aspect ratios can be connected.

Initially, description will be given of division patterns of the displayscreens, which are one of the features of the present invention. Thedisplay screens of the display units 200 and 300 will be referred to asa first display screen and a second display screen, respectively. FIGS.2A and 2B show, in broken lines, examples of the division patterns thatare defined in association with the aspect ratios of the first displayscreen and the second display screen, respectively. The first displayscreen of FIG. 2A has an aspect ratio of X:Y, and is divided into a mainarea A and a sub area B according to a first division pattern PDIV1.Moreover, the second display screen in FIG. 2B has an aspect ratio ofX′:Y′, and is divided into a main area A′ and a sub area B′ according toa second division pattern PDIV2. Here, the first and second divisionpatterns PDIV1 and PDIV2 are determined so that the main areas A and A′are similar to each other in shape, having the samehorizontal-to-vertical ratio.

The main areas A and A′ are used to display more important informationthan the sub areas B and B′, information which game players should paythe most attention to, or the like. Take, for example, the case ofdisplaying a car-racing game screen on each display screen. The mainareas A and A′ both display scenery where a racing circuit is viewedfrom the viewpoint of a driver through a windshield. That is, the mainareas A and A′ display the circuit road, background, and other cars. Thesub areas B and B′ display the scenery reflected on a rearview mirrorand instruments such as a speedometer.

In the present embodiment, the division patterns are determined so thatthe main areas A and A′ are similar to each other in shape. Whicheverdisplay screen, first or second, the display unit in connection has, theimage output apparatus 100 therefore has only to generate an identicalimage for the main area A or A′ regardless of the aspect ratio of thedisplay screen. As a result, it is possible to avoid inconsistencybetween the display screens of different aspect ratios and the failureof the game contents.

Furthermore, even when programming a game or the like in which thescreen to appear on the display screen varies minute by minute withplayer instructions, it is possible to reduce the effort involved inperforming tests and debugs on display screens with respective differentaspect ratios at least as far as images to be displayed in the main areaare concerned. This allows an improvement in the development efficiency.

Next, description will be given of the sub areas B and B′. These subareas B and B′ can be utilized in various ways, but the sub areas B andB′ will chiefly display information that is somewhat auxiliary to theinformation displayed in the main areas A and A′. Suitable image modesfor displaying auxiliary information include text information, icons,indicators, and logos.

As auxiliary information to be displayed as text information, icons,indicators, and the like, it is possible to display parametersindicating the amount of money and the growth level a player-operatedcharacter has, or conversations between characters.

Moreover, in a game where the image output apparatus 100, or gameconsole, is connected to a network and communicates with other gameconsoles to play, the sub area may display the contents of chats betweenthe players etc.

If the sub area is used independently of the application that uses themain area, the sub area may display information or the like providedfrom an operating system that controls the entire game console, forexample. Otherwise, a mere background image or the like may bedisplayed.

It should be appreciated that the main area and the sub area may displayimages update at different frequencies. Since the main area and the subarea display different information, updating the pieces of informationat respectively appropriate frequencies can sometimes reduce the amountof arithmetic processing or the like necessary for image generation.

The first and second division patterns PDIV1 and PDIV2 may be determinedso that the sub areas B and B′ are similar to each other in shape likethe main areas. If the sub areas B and B′ shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B aresimilar to each other, identical images rotated by 90° may be displayedin the respective sub areas.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show examples of images to be displayed in the subareas. For example, when an indicator bar for indicating a certainparameter is displayed in the sub areas, it may simply be rotated by 90°and displayed as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. As above, if the figure to bedisplayed in the sub areas is comprehensible to players even whenrotated by 90°, the image output apparatus 100 has only to generate,rotate, and output an identical image for the sub areas when the subareas are similar to each other in shape. This makes it possible toimprove the development efficiency of the game.

With a display screen having an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a displayscreen of 4:3 (=16:12), which are the standard sizes of television setsfor the game apparatus to be connected to, both the main areas and thesub areas can be made similar in shape using the following divisionpatterns: That is, the 16:9 display screen is divided in approximately1.26:14.74 horizontally while the 4:3 display screen is divided inapproximately 9.77:2.23 vertically. On both the display screens, themain areas divided by these division patterns have ahorizontal-to-vertical ratio of approximately 9:77:16, and the sub areashave a horizontal-to-vertical ratio (or vertical-to-horizontal ratio) ofapproximately 9:1.26. As employed herein, “approximately” impliescertain allowable errors included since it might be impossible to divideinto strictly similar shapes depending on the vertical and horizontalresolutions of the display units. Furthermore, some display screenshaving aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9 may not have perfect integerratios.

When the sub areas B and B′ are not similar to each other in shape, theymay be used in the following manner.

For example, indicator bars such as those shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B aresufficiently comprehensible to players even when they are verticallyextended, horizontally compressed, or otherwise changed inhorizontal-to-vertical ratio. In such cases, an image to be displayedcan be rotated by 90° and displayed as vertically/horizontally scaledup/down as appropriate even when the sub areas are not similar to eachother in shape.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show another example of the images to be displayed inthe sub areas. As shown in FIG. 4A, when a certain parameter isdisplayed as an array of symbols, the symbols may be displayed in adifferent arrangement by adjusting the spacing or the like. Such changescan be made with a slight addition or modification to the programwithout complicating the debugging in the development phase, and thusare effective when the sub areas are not shaped similarly to each other.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show another example of the images to be displayed inthe sub areas. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, if the information to bedisplayed in the sub areas is in Japanese, vertical writing andhorizontal writing can be switched to display the text information toadapt to the shapes of the respective sub areas.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show division patterns PDIV1′ and PDIV2′ by which thesub areas B and B′ shown in FIG. 2 are further divided into threemutually associated, small areas b, c, and d, and small areas b′, c′,and d′, respectively. The small areas associated with each other mayseparately display auxiliary information such as that shown in FIGS. 3and 4. In this way, when the sub areas are divided into the same numberof small areas and the small areas are associated with each other, it ispossible to provide flexible image display.

If the associated small areas are similar to each other in shape,identical images simply rotated by 90° may be displayed in the samemanner as in the foregoing case where the sub areas themselves aresimilar to each other in shape. In this case, indicators having lowdirectionality, such as that shown in FIG. 3 of low directionality, canbe displayed.

The small areas may also be shaped similarly to one another, having thesame horizontal-to-vertical ratio. In this case, images such as iconsthat would be hard to comprehend if rotated by 90° can be displayedsince the images need not be rotated by 90°. The small areas can begiven a square shape to facilitate providing similar shapes of the samehorizontal-to-vertical ratio with reliability.

Such variations in the division patterns of small areas allow a moreflexible layout of images regardless of whether they are directional ornot.

Moreover, when the sub areas are divided into small areas, it ispossible to lay out important information in positions easily viewableby players. This layout may be changed freely by the players.

As above, when the display screens are divided in different divisionpatterns depending on the aspect ratios of the display screens, it ispossible to output images and video pictures efficiently and withoutcausing the game contents to fail.

Next, returning to FIG. 1, description will be given of the procedureand method by which the image output apparatus 100 divides a displayscreen with a division pattern according to the aspect ratio of thedisplay screen, and displays images in respective areas.

The image output apparatus 100 includes a graphics processor 10, agraphics memory 12, a main processor 30, a memory 20, a displaycontroller 40, and an aspect ratio identification unit 50.

In the diagram, the individual elements shown as functional blocks whichperforms various types of processing can be constituted, in terms ofhardware, by a CPU, a memory, and other LSIs. In terms of software, theycan be achieved by a program and the like that are loaded in a memoryand have a reservation management function. It will thus be understoodby those skilled in the art that these functional blocks may be achievedin various ways including hardware alone, software alone, and acombination of these, and are not limited to any one of them.

The main processor 30 is a unit which processes tasks pertaining to anoperating system and individual applications. The memory 20 is a storagearea to be used primarily by the main processor 30.

The graphics processor 10 is a block dedicated to image-relatedprocessing, and performs rendering processes etc. The graphics processor10 includes an arithmetic unit 14 and a control unit 16. These blocksare connected to each other with a not-shown bus, and data signals areexchanged between the blocks.

The graphics memory 12 is a memory area dedicated to graphics-relateddata that is used and managed by the graphics processor 10. It includesa frame buffer for storing image frame data.

The arithmetic unit 14 performs various arithmetic processing pertainingto graphics according to commands from the main processor 30. Among theexamples of processing is a series of rendering processes for performingcoordinate transformation, hidden surface elimination, and shading basedon three-dimensional modeling data to generate image frame data, andwriting the same to the frame buffer.

The control unit 16 is a block which controls this entire graphicsprocessor 10. It performs synchronization management on data transferbetween the arithmetic unit 14 and the graphics memory 12, interruptprocessing, timer management, etc. The control unit 16 also secondarilyperforms the division of the display screen.

The display controller 40 generates horizontal and verticalsynchronizing signals. In accordance with the display timing of thedisplay unit 200 or 300, it reads pixel data of the image frame dataline by line in succession from the frame buffer stored in the graphicsmemory 12, and converts it into a format corresponding to the displayunit 200 or 300 for output.

The aspect ratio identification unit 50 identifies the aspect ratio ofthe display screen of the display unit that is connected to the imageoutput apparatus 100. The identification of the aspect ratio can beeffected by either of hardware and software means. The aspect ratio maybe checked by exchanging signals with the connected display unit 200 or300. Users may input the aspect ratio according to the connected displayunit. That is, the aspect ratio identification unit 50 refers to adevice, means, or method for identifying the aspect ratio of the displayscreen to which the image output apparatus 100 outputs images.

Hereinafter, description will be given of the method by which the imageoutput apparatus 100 having the foregoing configuration divides thedisplay screen and outputs images to respective areas.

In a first method, each individual game application identifies theaspect ratio of the display screen and draws the entire image frame. Inthis case, the game application itself prepares division patterns forrespective aspect ratios of the display screens. Then, it generatesimages for respective areas divided by a division pattern, and writesthem into frame buffers corresponding to the respective areas to createimage frame data.

According to this method, the division patterns of the display screencan be set application by application. This makes it possible to providean appropriate main area and sub area with respect to each game.Furthermore, the arithmetic processing involved in rotating images to bedisplayed in respective areas can be achieved easily, for example, bytilting a camera by 90°. Scaling up/down can also be achieved easily byknown algorithms. In this case, the image output apparatus 100, thehardware, need not have special functions.

It should be appreciated that image frame data having ahorizontal-to-vertical ratio of 4:3 can be generated on the frame bufferfor a widescreen television of 16:9 in aspect ratio, so that the displayunit horizontally expands it for display. In this case, the applicationneeds to change the horizontal-to-vertical ratio of the image frame datato be written to the frame buffer depending on whether it is 16:9 or4:3. This can be achieved easily, however, by conventional techniques.

In another method, applications may generate images for respective areasregardless of the aspect ratio of the display screen so that the imagesare arranged by the hardware or by the operating system. In this case,the division patterns of the display screen at respective aspect ratiosare set by the hardware or the operating system.

Game application developers take these division patterns into account inadvance when creating games. The applications generate image data to bedisplayed in each area irrespective of the aspect ratio of the displayscreen. The pieces of data corresponding to the respective areas aretemporarily stored into the memory 20 or the graphics memory 12.

The aspect ratio identification unit 50 communicates the aspect ratio ofthe connected display screen to the control unit 16. The control unit 16rearranges the pieces of image frame data corresponding to therespective areas, temporarily stored in the memory 20 or the graphicsmemory 12, onto the graphics memory 12 as image frame data based on thedivision pattern corresponding to the aspect ratio communicated. Sincethe main areas have similar shapes even in different division patterns,an identical image will be displayed when rearranged. Sub areas andsmall areas may be displayed as scaled up, scaled down, or rotated 90°if necessary, depending on their respective shapes. The technologies forscaling up/down and rotating images may be practiced by various knownhardware or software techniques. Description thereof will thus beomitted.

This method provides the advantage that the division patterns only needbe taken into account in the phase of developing game applications, andeach application, when executed by the image output apparatus 100, neednot change the contents of processing depending on the aspect ratio ofthe display screen. In addition, even when updating individual areas atdifferent frequencies, game applications have only to update the imagedata to be temporarily stored into the memory 20 or the graphics memory12 with respect to each of the areas. This can reduce the load of thearithmetic processing. Moreover, this method facilitates utilizing anyof the divided areas as an area for displaying information and the likepertaining to the operating system.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment relates to an image display apparatus which receivesa broadcast or receives a signal output from an image output apparatussuch as a DVD player or a game console, and outputs it as an image.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this imagedisplay apparatus 500. The image display apparatus 500 includes an inputunit 510, an arithmetic processing unit 520, a video memory 530, and adisplay screen 540. As in the first embodiment, the display screen 540is divided into several areas, and images are output to the respectiveareas. The division pattern to be used here is defined for each imagedisplay apparatus 500, depending on the aspect ratio of the displayscreen 540. For example, the division pattern of FIG. 6A is defined forone image display apparatus 500, and the division pattern of FIG. 6B isdefined for another image display apparatus 500′. It is preferable thatat least the main areas A and A′ are defined so as to be similar inshape even on different image display apparatuses.

Broadcast data received by an antenna 550, and image data output fromthe connected image output apparatus 100, such as a game console or aDVD player, are input to the input unit 510. The image data input to theinput unit 510 includes data Da corresponding to a main area A, and dataDb, Dc, and Dd corresponding to small areas b, c, and d, and b′, c′, andd′. The image output apparatus 100 and the broadcast station thatbroadcasts the broadcast data will generate identical image data Da toDd, and input the same to the input unit 510 irrespective of the aspectratio of the display screen 540 of the image display apparatus 500.

The image data Da to Dd input to the input unit 510 is input to thearithmetic processing unit 520. The arithmetic processing pat 520rearranges the image data Da to Dd in the video memory 530 so as to bedisplayed properly according to the division pattern.

In the case of a broadcast, the individual areas may be used such thatthe main area A displays basic images, and the small areas b to ddisplay a text broadcast or the like. In the cases of quiz shows and thelike, the small areas may display panelist images or answeralternatives. Moreover, when broadcasting a movie or the like, the mainarea A may display the video picture while the small areas b to ddisplay subtitles or the like. In this case, the small areas of FIGS. 6Aand 6B may display subtitles in horizontal writing and vertical writing,respectively.

The image display apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment maybe configured so that users can switch the positions of the main area Aand the small areas b to c, or change the order of the small areas b toc. In this case, the arithmetic processing unit 520 may arrange thepieces of image data on the video memory 530 in a different arrangement.

As above, in the present embodiment, the image display apparatus 500itself is provided with the function of arranging and displaying, inindividual areas, the image data that is generated on the preconditionof being divided for display. As a result, the technology of dividing adisplay screen can be applied even to broadcasts and the like whereimage data is provided without identifying the aspect ratio of thedisplay screen.

The foregoing embodiments have been given solely by way of illustration.It will be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made to combinations of the foregoing componentsand processes, and all such modifications are also intended to fallwithin the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the image output method according to the present invention,it is possible to output images and video pictures to display screenswith different aspect ratios efficiently and without causing thecontents to fail.

1. An image output method comprising: dividing, for display screenshaving a plurality of aspect ratios respectively, a display screen intoa plurality of areas so that there exists a main area with apredetermined horizontal-to-vertical ratio that is fixed despite theaspect ratio of the display screen; and outputting an image having thepredetermined horizontal-to-vertical ratio in the main area of thedisplay screen.
 2. An image output apparatus comprising: an aspect ratioidentification unit configured to identify an aspect ratio of a displayscreen of a display unit for an image to be output to; an imagegenerating unit configured to generate an image to be output to thedisplay screen based on the aspect ratio identified by the aspect ratioidentification unit; and an output unit configured to output the imagegenerated by the image generating unit to the display screen, whereinthe image generating unit divides the display screen into a main areaand at least one sub area based on a first division pattern when thedisplay screen has a first aspect ratio, and divides the display screeninto a main area and at least one sub area based on a second divisionpattern when the display screen has a second aspect ratio, and whereinthe first and second division patterns are defined so that the main areaobtained by dividing the display screen based on the first divisionpattern and the main area obtained by dividing the display screen basedon the second division pattern are substantially similar to each otherin shape.
 3. An image output apparatus comprising: an aspect ratioidentification unit configured to identify an aspect ratio of a displayscreen of a display unit for an image to be output to; a memoryconfigured to store an image to be output to the display screen; animage generating unit configured to divide the memory into a pluralityof areas based on a division pattern corresponding to the aspect ratioidentified by the aspect ratio identification unit, generate image datafor each area, and store the image data into the plurality of areas; andan output unit configured to output the image data stored in the memoryto the display screen, wherein the image generating unit divides thedisplay screen into a main area and at least one sub area based on afirst division pattern when the display screen has a first aspect ratio,and divides the display screen into a main area and at least one subarea based on a second division pattern when the display screen has asecond aspect ratio, and wherein the first and second division patternsare defined so that the main area obtained by dividing the displayscreen based on the first division pattern and the main area obtained bydividing the display screen based on the second division pattern aresubstantially similar to each other in shape.
 4. An image displayapparatus comprising: an input unit for image data to be input to basedon a precondition that a display screen is divided into a plurality ofareas and images are displayed in the respective areas, the image datacorresponding to each of the areas; a memory configured to store imagesto be output to the display screen; and an arithmetic processing unitconfigured to divide the memory into a plurality of areas according to adivision pattern of the display screen, and arranges the image datainput from the input unit into the respective areas, wherein thearithmetic processing unit divides the display screen into a main areaand at least one sub area based on a first division pattern when thedisplay screen has a first aspect ratio, and divides the display screeninto a main area and at least one sub area based on a second divisionpattern when the display screen has a second aspect ratio, and whereinthe first and second division patterns are defined so that the main areaobtained by dividing the display screen based on the first divisionpattern and the main area obtained by dividing the display screen basedon the second division pattern are substantially similar to each otherin shape.
 5. An image output method according to claim 1, wherein animage is displayed in a sub area out of the plurality of areas.
 6. Animage output method according to claim 1, wherein a mere backgroundimage is displayed in a sub area out of the plurality of areas.
 7. Animage output method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of textinformation, icons, indicators, and logos is displayed in a sub area outof the plurality of areas.
 8. An image output method according to claim1, wherein images displayed in the main area and the sub area areupdated at different frequencies respectively.
 9. An image output methodaccording to claim 1, wherein information from an operating system isdisplayed in a sub area out of the plurality of areas.
 10. An imageoutput method according to claim 1, wherein a broadcasted image isdisplayed in the main area.
 11. An image output method to a displayscreen that has either a first aspect ratio or a second aspect ratiocomprising: dividing the display screen into a main area and at leastone sub area based on a first division pattern and generating images forthe respective areas when the display screen has the first aspect ratio;and dividing the display screen into a main area and at least one subarea based on a second division pattern and generating images for therespective areas when the display screen has the second aspect ratio;wherein the first and second division patterns are defined so that themain area obtained by dividing the display screen based on the firstdivision pattern and the main area obtained by dividing the displayscreen based on the second division pattern are substantially similar toeach other in shape.
 12. An image output method to a display screen thathas either a first aspect ratio or a second aspect ratio comprising:dividing the display screen into a main area and at least one sub areabased on a first division pattern and generating images for therespective areas when the display screen has the first aspect ratio; anddividing the display screen into a main area and at least one sub areabased on a second division pattern and generating images for therespective areas when the display screen has the second aspect ratio;wherein the first and second division patterns are defined so that themain area obtained by dividing the display screen based on the firstdivision pattern and the main area obtained by dividing the displayscreen based on the second division pattern have a common predeterminedhorizontal-to-vertical ratio.
 13. An image output apparatus comprising:an aspect ratio identification unit configured to identify, for displayscreens having a plurality of aspect ratios respectively, an aspectratio of a display screen of a display unit for an image to be outputto; an image generating unit configured to generate an image to beoutput to the display screen based on the aspect ratio identified by theaspect ratio identification unit; and an output unit configured tooutput the image generated by the image generating unit to the displayscreen, wherein the image generating unit divides the display screeninto a plurality of areas so that there exists a main area with apredetermined horizontal-to-vertical ratio that is fixed despite theaspect ratio of the display screen and generates an image having thepredetermined horizontal-to-vertical ratio for the main area of thedisplay screen.